Twilight of Escaflowne
by tigger093061
Summary: My life is about to take a dramatic twist and turn. I have met the most amazing guy in the world and he's a vampire. I know that he hungers for my blood, but how much exactly? All these and more as I tell the unbelievable events of my life.
1. Preface

**Hello everyone! Well, I've finally decided to write my own very first fanfic! After reading and reviewing all the awesome Escaflowne fanfic here on fanfiction . net for just a little over a year, I've decided that it's about time I write one of my own…so here it is! Go easy on me, it's my first time.**

**Ok, I decided to cross Escaflowne with a book called Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. If you haven't read it, you should go read it now. **

**Below is a list of characters that I'm using from both Twilight and Escaflowne, and some of the characters I've decided to use in place of others. For example, Instead of Bella and Edward, I'm using Van and Hitomi. But I'm still using Carlisle and other other Cullens, etc. And as the story develops you'll get to meet some original characters that I had from my story ****Everlast**** as I have decided to merge the two stories in an attempt to give this story direction and to finish it. I have high hopes for the outcome and I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoy writing it.**

**So without further ado, I give you the new and improved version of ****Twilight of Escaflowne****!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Escaflowne & I don't take credit for anything I may use from them. My original characters are mine as well as my original plot from ****Everlast**** though so please don't steal my characters and plot without my permission.**

**Ok here are the characters:**

**Isabella Swan – Hitomi Kanzaki**

**Edward Cullen – Van Fanel**

**Hitomi's Mom – Lisa Smith**

**Hitomi's Dad – Shoji Kanzaki**

**Carlisle Cullen – As Carlisle (Van's foster dad)**

**Esme Cullen – As Esme (Van's foster mom)**

**Alice Cullen – As Alice (Van's sister)**

**Emmett Cullen – As Emmett (Van's brother)**

**Rosalie Hale – As Rosalie (Van's adopted sister)**

**Jasper Hale – As Jasper (Van's adopted brother)**

**Jacob Black – As Jacob**

**Billy Black – As Billy**

**Mike Newton – Amano **

**Tyler Crowley – Tyler**

**James – Dilandau**

**Laurent – Folken**

**Victoria – Celena**

**Jessica Stanley – As Jessica**

**Lauren Mallory – As Lauren**

**Angela Weber – Yukari Uchida**

**Eric Yorki – As Eric**

**Ok, have I confused everyone yet? j/k anyway, I realize that a lot of the characters may be waaaay OOC, so if you don't like that, I suggest you stop reading and go find another story, but I'd be greatly honored if you continued reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne (but I do own the box set WEEEE! Haha) and I don't own Twilight (but I do own the book!)**

**So without further ado…I bring you:**

-.:**Twilight of Escaflowne**:.-

"These violent delights have violent ends

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,

Which, as they kiss, consume."

—Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene VI

**Preface**

**T**wo worlds and one union—devastation. That which will forever be used to describe the bond of these two beings. Joined under on common emotion—Love. Oh! That feeling which makes us complete, and yet in the same breath, so torn.  
This relationship doomed from its first kindling, and yet they meet. Fall in love they will and star-crossed lovers they be.

End

VvvV

I abruptly sat up in bad, taking in deep, ragged breaths. Eyes wide, soaked in a cold sweat, I had yet another one of those treacherous dreams.

I have always had dreams. In fact, there has never been a night that I could remember where I hadn't dreamed. Some of them are frightful. I dream of people dyeing, and then the next day on the news, they find the bodies.

Sometimes I dream of wonderful things, though. I dream of a beautiful meadow with me and another person, a man, sitting in it. I know that I deeply love the man and that he's in love with me as well, but there's this underlying feeling that I'm in danger.

I never see his face though. There have been other dreams with him. He and I, standing in the woods, and then he's gone.

And then I've dreamed of wolves. I don't know why as I have never had any particular interest in wolves otherwise. But these wolves are massive like something straight from the ice age.

I've told my mother about some of my dreams and she tells me that dreams are just funny like that, but she also said when I was little that dreams can have meaning. I have always had dreams since when I was very very little. And I know that my dreams do mean something as not everybody you run into can say that they dream of people dyeing and then those same people are found days later, dead, somewhere in a ditch, or a closet, or dumped in the desert.

Nevertheless, I have never taken my dreams seriously, and I haven't had dreams filled with death in very often. Those are the ones that have me up in bed soaked in cold sweat. But this one didn't involve death.

No. This one involved my flying to Fanelia, meeting Shoji, and moving in with him. I have never really got on very well with Shoji. He and my mother split when I was young. My parents married straight outta high school. But when my mother gave birth to me, one day she just packed up, grabbed me, and left.

And that was that. Ever since then, I've lived with my mother in Basram, while I spend the summers with Shoji in Fanelia.

Well, this wasn't summer and I wasn't just visiting. In fact, it was the start of the fall semester of my Junior year, and I was going to live with Shoji in Fanelia.

My mother had found another boyfriend who travels a lot for his job. She wants to be with him more, and I know that I'm a hindrance to their relationship. So I suggested I move in with Shoji.

At first, my mom was a little reluctant and assured me that I didn't have to do this, but I could see the shine in her eyes at the possibility and told her that it was no big deal, that it was high time I get to know my dad after all.

So that was it. What few things I have are packed and waiting in the car for our departure at approximately 7:00 this morning as my flight is at 8:00.

I have marked this as the end of one era of my life and the dawning of my new life in misery.

VvvV

**AN: So what do you think of the changes? Please R&R as I need some assurance that my new ideas for this story aren't a waste of time ;)**

**Ja ne**

**TEE**


	2. Arrival

**AN: Hello again. First of all, I would like to dedicate this chapter to my friend Krissy whom helped me through my writer's block and gave me some awesome ideas for the next chapters. Second, I would like to thank all the wonderful reviewers who reviewed the preface of this story, and who also encouraged me through my writer's block.**

**kichis-sarjilian, AmethystWings, Rina, Missing White Wings 15, bluetreeleaves, kiwi, Snowtigress, angel of new beginnings, **and **AnImE-and-kRiSsY.**

**Here's the first chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: once again, I sadly own neither Twilight nor Escaflowne. –sighs-**

-.:**Twilight of Escaflowne**:.-

Chapter 1

**Arrival**

The drive to the airport didn't last long enough. Before I knew it, I had already gone through the baggage check and was now seated on the plane ready for takeoff.

Every second was agony as I realized the insanity of my decision. I wanted so badly to grab my things and run off the plan and beg my mother to reconsider.

_Reconsider what? It was your decision to move to Fanelia with Shoji anyway! _My inward thoughts reminded me.

I sighed as I realized that my fate was sealed, so I pulled out my mp3 player and put in my ear buds. I might as well make myself comfortable and enjoy what little time I had before we reached Fanelia.

VvvV

I was in a dark room surrounded by several dark faces. I couldn't make out whom the people were, but I could tell that they were looking at me like I was something to eat.

Suddenly I realized that I was in immense pain. I looked around to find the damage and wished that I hadn't. I had a huge gash in my leg that went all the way from my mid calf up to the back of my thigh. Looking at it made me queasy, and the slightest movements made my head spin. I think it was broken. Not only that, but there was a sharp pain in my side and I was having trouble breathing. My right wrist was lacerated and there was a burning sensation that came from it.

_What in Hades had happened to me!!!!_

I began to panic as one of the dark figures moved towards me. I whimpered a tried my best to back away but realized that there was no way I was going to escape.

"What should we do with her?" One of the figures asked another.

"I don't know. She's banged up pretty badly. I think this is beyond me…She needs to go to a hospital," the figure answered.

_Ok, so they weren't going to hurt me…so who are these people?_

Suddenly the burning sensation coming from my wrist was too much to bear and I cried out in pain "it burns! It's burning!! It's like fire!!!" I screamed.

The dark figures exchanged a few more words that I couldn't make out as I was too preoccupied with what was happening to me. My ears were buzzing, and my vision had gone out. I could tell that my body was convulsing as the pain in my side and leg flared each time I moved. I just wanted it all to end…to go away…and before I knew it…I was engulfed in flame…

VvvV

"Miss? Miss? Are you alright? Miss?!"

I woke from my nightmare to find a flight attendant looking worriedly into my face.

"Are you alright?" She asked once more.

"Uh…y-yes….I was just having a nightmare is all…" I stammered.

"Oh. Well we have arrived at the airport and everyone else has exited. Can I help you with your things?"

"Oh! No…I just have one carry on but thanks…" I gathered my things, embarrassed.

"Then have a good day, miss."

I quickly walked through the off ramp and into the airport. Shoji was waiting for me by a pillar in the walkway. He waved me down as he noticed me.

"Tomi. How've ya been?" He awkwardly asked me as he moved to take my things.

"I've got it," I protested his act of kindness. "And I'm good…just a little jet-lagged."

"Oh, well…shall we go get your things?"

Shoji has always been unsure of me. He doesn't really know how to act around me as if he's afraid that he's going to say the wrong thing or make the wrong move. But that's just my dad for you. I really don't blame him as I've only gotten to spend three months out of the year with him through my 17-year existence. These next few months were definitely going to be awkward…

We walked in silence to the luggage pickup. I was grateful that he had the decency to not bombard me with questions. But I that's why Shoji and I get along; he gives me space.

Nevertheless, the silence that hovered while we waited for my bags to come down the conveyor belt was awkward. I could tell Shoji was nervous. He always stuck his hands in his pocket and rocked back on his heels when he was nervous. It was the same routine that we went through every year, but this time, the feeling was practically palpable. I suppose he was anxious by the fact that this time I wasn't staying for only three months, but on a more permanent basis instead. That very thought made me hate myself even more.

Once we had gathered my bags we headed for the exit to the parking lot. As I walked out the door, I wasn't surprised to see that it was raining. You see, I had chosen the dreariest place in all of Gaea to exile myself. Literally. Fanelia is recorded to receive the most rainfall of any other place in Gaea, and compared to beautiful, sunny Basram, this place was the epitome of gloom. What little complexion I had managed to get during my years in Basram was sure to go away within the next month here in Fanelia, as sunshine was a rarity.

We hurried across the lot to the cruiser to get out of the rain. Shoji opened the door for me and then went around to the back to put my bags in the trunk. He rushed around to the drivers side and the sighed as he secured his safety belt and turned the key into the ignition.

The drive to his house took about 30 minutes as the airport isn't exactly in Fanelia. To pass the time and to break the overbearing awkward silence, Shoji asked about mom. I informed him that she and her new husband, Phil, were doing fine, and that she was travelling with him to his games.

Phil is a minor league baseball player and is the reason why I decided to punish myself by moving to Fanelia with Shoji. Don't get me wrong; I like the guy, it's just that I understood how mom wanted so badly to go with him and support him, and dragging a 17-year-old girl along for the ride wouldn't exactly be the best thing for the newly-weds. Thus here I am, in cold, rainy, dreary, gloomy, Fanelia, for the remainder of my time as a minor.

"I took the liberty to get you a car," Shoji interrupted my brooding.

"You what?" I asked confused.

"I bought it from Billy Black—you remember him? He has a boy your age named Jacob—well anyway, he was selling his truck and offered it to me for a good price…"

"Sh-uh-dad…you didn't have to do that…I've been saving up to get car myself…" I said, touched. Shoji was the chief of police in Fanelia, and being chauffeured around in his police cruiser would have definitely been a problem; nothing slows down traffic like a cop.

"Consider it a, uh, welcome home gift, and I know you're gonna need a vehicle and you don't have enough to get one yourself anyway, and I'm pretty sure this one will do you good…" he rambled, embarrassed.

"So what kinda truck—you said it was a truck right?—is it anyway?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh it's nothing fancy, just an old Chevy pickup…"

"How old?" I asked, a little wary.

"Old enough," he replied.

"Dad! You know that when it comes to automotive-related things I'm illiterate! What am I gonna do if I break down or blow a tire out? I don't know how to fix vehicles!"

"Don't worry. The truck may be old but Billy just put a brand new engine in it and Jacob checked everything over and gave I a seal of approval," he assured me.

About that time, we pulled into the front drive and parked on curb in front of house was an old, beat up, dinosaur of a truck. The rain had let up since we got to the house, so Shoji gave me the grand tour of the truck before we unloaded the cruiser. I got in the driver's seat and checked out the gears and specks. It was automatic--thank God as standards were beyond me!—so it must have not been _that _old. And it even had a CD player in it! The possibilities were getting better by the minute!

"So…what do ya think?" Shoji asked uncertainly.

"Dad, I love it! It's perfect for me!"

Embarrassed, he began to shuffle his feet and mumble that it was starting to rain again so went and got my things out of the cruiser and put them in the house.

I decided to stay out for just a little bit longer to acquaint myself with my new truck.

When I decided that I was going to discover all that I could without actually driving it, I went inside the house to see Shoji taking his coat off and un-strapping his belt.

"Your things are upstairs in your room already. You can go ahead and unpack while I whip us up something to eat."

I went upstairs to the room at the end of the hall nearest to the bathroom that had been mine since birth. I walked in to see it unchanged from the last time I had been here. It was a quaint little room with one window by the bed. My dresser was next to my closet, and the only addition had been a desk with a computer at mom's request. She felt that we needed to stay in touch through e-mail. The rocking chair that my mother had nursed me to sleep in still remained in my room by the closet, along with the yellow curtains and the clouds mom had painted on the walls when I was born. I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way.

As I walked into my room and sat on the bed, I began to think of the day's events, and what was to come. I hadn't had much time to ponder on my nightmare as I was so embarrassed and then things were awkward with Shoji to where I had forgotten all about it.

There were hardly any dreams that I had ever had that had no meaning. So I was reluctant to brush this one off as one of those. But what was odd is that the star of my dream was I, which had never happened before.

Was it a vision of what was to happen to me in the future? Was it just another strange nightmare? Or was it just a nightmare conjured from my nervousness and unease due to moving here to Fanelia?

The possibilities were endless and I'd rather not dwell on some of the more disturbing ones. Therefore, I busied myself with unpacking my clothes and putting my cosmetics in the bathroom and shower. I thought about my new truck, my new/old room, and the new school that I would now be going to that is filled with new people who don't know me.

Perhaps I shouldn't look at my life here in Fanelia as an ending, but a new beginning. Things just may not be so bad here in Fanelia, even if it does rain all the time. Hey, at least I got a new vehicle out of it.

Perhaps there is more to Fanelia than meets the eye.

VvvV

**AN: Ok. Here's **_**MY**_** version of chapter one. I was so ashamed of how I'd copied it practically directly from the book, that I couldn't stand to let it stay is it was. ****Everlast**** is my story after all, so I might as well make all of TofE mine too if I'm going to merge the two. **

**There are some things that are the same, but quite a few things that are different and completely my own. I'll tell you now that this chapter is relevant to what is going to happen in the later chapters. **

**I redid the Preface if you haven't already noticed, and it's important to the plot as well. I'm not going to put up any new chapters until I've revised all the previous ones to make them fall into place with ****Everlast****. So you might as well go back and re-read the whole story thus far, otherwise you may turn out to be completely confused halfway into the story. **

**If you don't want to re-read the previous chapters, that's ok with me too…I don't think you will necessarily need them to catch the basic plot of this story in the new direction it's going to change, but I'm adding things to the previous chapters that are going to make my future chapters make a lot more sense. So I'm apologizing to my reviewers and readers now for the inconvenience, but I promise that you won't regret it.**

**So I think I've babbled enough for one chapter…Just a few more memos: I'm going to be busy for the next few days traveling and whatnot, so I can't guarantee that I will be able to have the new chapter 2 and 3 up by Thursday, but by golly sure am gonna try ;)**

**Also, I have decided that I am personally going to answer any questions asked in your reviews, so don't be afraid to ask me questions. What I won't do, however, is give you spoilers. I figure that if you take the time out of your day to review my excuse of a fanfic, I should at least have the decency to answer your reviews. And this is a long time coming, I know, so if you get a reply from me for a review that you left two or three years ago, don't be surprised. **

**That's all for now, so stay tuned for the new and improved chapter 2!**

**Ja Ne**

**TEE**

**p.s. if you find spelling or grammar errors, I'm terribly sorry as I don't have a beta reader, and once again, I wrote this at midnight ^^;;**


	3. First Encounter

**-.:****Twilight of Escaflowne****:.-**

Chapter 2

**First Encounter**

**I **woke up the next morning, and I was sick. I don't know if it was a serious case of home sickness or what…but I was sick.

Around noon, I began to feel better. I went downstairs, took some Dayquil and ate a meager lunch of scrambled eggs; I didn't want to upset my stomach more than it already was. I sat down on the sofa in the living room and flipped through the channels on the TV. As I sat there, I glanced out the window at the forest. It was an unusual day in Fanelia; it was sunny for once. I decided I'd take advantage of the sun and take a stroll through the woods. Besides, I could use the fresh air.

I got up to go change out of my pajamas, but when I reached the staircase, I decided I'd just through a shawl over my shoulders. I mean, who would I see in forest on a school day? And even if I did run into someone, my pajamas only consisted of sweat pants and a t-shirt.

I stepped out onto the front step and gloried in the sunny day. I crossed my front lawn to the forest that bordered our yard. As I approached it, I began to wonder what I was thinking, but my stubbornness kicked in and I entered the shrubbery.

The forest was thick, and I kept running into tree branches and bushes. There wasn't very much light either so it was hard to find a path. Finally, I reached a less dense area of the forest where I sat down under the brush to have a rest. As I sat there, I listened to all the little noises of the forest. Birds were chirping, and I could here the chatter of squirrels in a nearby tree. After I caught my breath I resumed my trek.

I passed tree after tree, loosing my sense of direction. Pretty soon, I started to panic. I didn't know which way I had come. I tried to calm down and think about what I learned in a wilderness survival class I had taken. Unlucky for me, I hadn't paid very much attention in that class. Now I was mentally kicking myself in the rear for it.

I stopped in my path altogether, and just closed my eyes and thought for a second. I tried to calm my breathing down and relax a little. I was making progress until I heard a crashing noise not far to my right. I froze altogether. My heart rate climbed to an erratic pace, and my breathing became shallow. I held my eyes shut and tried not to panic anymore than I already had.

Everything was silent. It was as if a hush had fallen over the whole forest. I couldn't hear any birds or squirrels. The tension was killing me. I was too afraid to open my eyes. I was just about to open them when I heard yet another noise. It sounded like something was tearing down the forest; snapping twigs and destroying the underbrush. It sounded like something big. My instincts told me to run, but my limbs wouldn't move. I was like a deer frozen in the spotlights of an oncoming car.

The thing was getting closer. I could hear the snapping and breaking of twigs intensify as it came at me.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes and ran for all that I was worth. I don't believe I had ever run so fast in my life. It was like all my senses shut down and all that went through my mind was the word 'run'. I ran in no particular direction, just so long as I got away from the thing. I didn't know whether or not it was chasing me; I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't even hear my own breathing, but my heartbeat sounded in my ear like I was standing next to a giant war drum.

I ran and ran until my clumsiness returned, and I tripped and fell. I lay on the ground where I had fallen, panting. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to catch my breath and slow my heart rate back to its normal pace. I don't know how long I had lain there, but I felt that if I didn't move now, the thing would find me.

Just as I was about to get up and continue on, I heard the crashing again. It was moving quickly in my direction. I was once again frozen stiff in the spot where I lay. I couldn't get up and run even though my instincts screamed at me to. For some reason, I felt content just laying there, awaiting what ever it was that was headed in my direction.

Just as I had anticipated, the thing had broken though the brush right in front of me. It was a giant mountain lion; the biggest one I had ever seen. I just sat there and waited for it to kill me. I could see the rage in its eyes. I wondered what the cause of that rage was. But the cause didn't matter, only the effect.

It hissed and snarled at me. Just before it lunged at me, I instinctively covered my face with my arms. The next thing I knew, I was flying. Or at least that's what it felt like. I couldn't make anything out. My mind was still hazy with fear, and everything was blurry. I tried to make out where I was at. Was I dead? Is this what death was like? It was still somewhat dark, so I reasoned I was still in the forest. But was there a forest in heaven?

I looked around me to see everything passing at lightning speed. Then I noticed that someone was holding me. I could tell that it was a man. I tried to make out his face, but it was covered in shadows. Was he my guardian angel taking me to heaven?

I was aware of a very comforting and alluring scent. I snuggled into the chest of my savior, inhaling. I could feel his arms stiffen around me. I felt so safe and comforted in his strong arms. I just wanted to close my eyes and fade away. I wanted to let everything fade away—the life I had left in Basram, the new life I had started in Fanelia—just let it all fade away…

VvvV

When I came too, I felt numb and confused. I had no idea where I was or if I was even alive. I sat up and was nauseous with the sudden movement. My head was spinning and I felt my breakfast churning in my stomach.

I finally gathered my senses and looked at my surroundings. I was sitting in a yard looking at a road. When I glanced behind me, I realized I was in the yard in front of Shoji's house. I was trying to sort out the events of the day and how I ended up here. Nothing made sense or seemed to add up. And then I glanced at the forest beside me.

Looking at the dense foliage, I felt a chill go down my spine. I remembered being very afraid and running from something. Then I remembered the mountain lion, and then I remembered…_flying_?

Yes, I remembered flying through the forest, in someone's arms; a man's arms. And I remembered he had a very alluring scent. '_How long have I been lying here?_' I thought. As I sat there and pondered over it, I heard a car coming down the road. Shoji's cruiser pulled into the driveway and I watched as he got out.

"Tomi? You're sick honey; what are you doing out here?"

"That's a good question," I muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," I said. "I'm just enjoying the sun."

He didn't say anything as he raised one eyebrow at me and looked up at the sky. I followed his gaze to see that it was completely overcast.

"I mean, I was enjoying the sun this morning. I guess I must've fallen asleep and not noticed the change in the weather," I quickly added.

"Well come inside, I don't want you to worsen your condition."

"I'm fine, really I am. I ate breakfast this morning and didn't loose any of it, and my fever has gone down."

"Well that's great. Are you up to going to school tomorrow then?"

"Sure," I sighed. I guess I couldn't put it off any longer…

"Great. Then I'll call the school and let them know that you will be attending tomorrow."

"Great," I repeated, trying and failing to be enthusiastic.

"So what would you like for dinner?" he asked.

"You go ahead. I'm not that hungry. I think I'm just going to go take a shower and go to bed."

"Well…alright," he said. "Good night."

"Good night." I dragged my feet up the stairs and into the bathroom. When I was finished freshening up, I went to my room and plopped down on my bed. As I lay there, I wondered how school would go; how the people would react to me, and what kind of people I'd meet. I wondered how I had escaped death, and who my savior was. I tried to remember the face of my guardian angel, but all I remembered was shadows.

My eyelids began to droop as I continued to ponder what happened today. Before long, I had fallen into a restless sleep. It was pouring outside, and the sound of the rain hitting the windows disturbed me. I tossed and turned as I fell into a strange dream.

Everything was foggy and blurry. I could see that I was in a forest. I looked around and saw two dark figures standing off to the right of me. I couldn't make out their faces. All I could see was that they were both men. One was taller than the other and had a gangly look about him. The other was less brawny but looked equally as strong. They both wore dark clothing.

Then I looked to the left of me and saw the mountain lion I saw earlier today. I didn't have the fury in its eyes that it held when I encountered it in the forest. Then I looked in front of me to see the taller man lunging at the mountain lion. '_How strange._' I thought. He didn't have any weapons of any sort. How could this defenseless man take on a mountain lion with his bear hands and live?

The other man joined in on the attack. I oddly felt sorry for the mountain lion, and I began to walk towards them. As soon as I took my first step, the two men paused, and the mountain lion dashed away.

The taller man ran after the mountain lion, and the other man looked in my direction. I suddenly felt a fear like no other. My mind screamed at me to run, but I was rooted to the ground. He started walking towards me, and my surroundings disappeared. He drew closer, and he too began to disappear. He held his hand out to me. I reached for it and noticed that he was fading away. I saw his lips moving as if he was calling out my name, but no sound came out. Then he was gone, and I was falling…

VvvV

I abruptly sat up in bed in a cold sweat trying to catch my breath. It's very strange how many of my dreams always end with me falling. It's like I'm doomed to fall in an eternal abyss or something. It doesn't help that I'm afraid of heights either, so being the suspicious freak that I am, I take great care to dodge even the smallest of gofer holes and avoid tall places.

Nevertheless, my slumber was ruined. I glanced at my clock on my headboard to see that it was 5:30. At least I'm not missing out on too much more sleep since I wake up at 6:30 every morning anyway.

I don't know why; it's just one of those weird things about me. It's like I have an internal alarm clock in my head that tells me it's time to get up every morning at 6:30. Let me tell you, it sure does get annoying. You know those days called weekends and holidays when normal kids sleep in till noon? Not me. Nope, I'm up at the crack of dawn. Maybe I was a rooster in my past life or something…

I went through my normal routine of getting dressed; shower, dress, eat breakfast, then go about my daily business. It doesn't take me very long at all to get ready. Then again, I'm not one of those girls who spend hours in front of the mirror making sure their hair and makeup is flawless. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I'm quite comfortable with the way I look without it, and besides, no amount of makeup and hairspray can make me look any better. Trust me.

When I finished freshening up, I went downstairs to see what I could scrounge out of the kitchen. There really wasn't much in the refrigerator. I was lucky that I could find the provisions to make a bowl of cereal; it's a good thing I'm finicky when it comes to breakfast. But really, it's a wonder how Shoji's survived all these years in the shape his pantry is in. Therefore, I decided that I needed to make a list and go to the grocery store. I'm gonna get stuck as the family chef too; I can already tell. Let's be honest, how many guys do you know that can make a decent meal? Not many huh? And Shoji's no different. I guess that's where the saying "the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach" comes from.

VvvV

Fanelia is utterly boring. I've only been here for two days and it already feels like I've been here for two years!

My happy life in Basram ended on August 13th, a Friday; what are the odds? I guess 13 really is an unlucky number after all.

Saturday was a complete waste as I spent the day sick and most of it slumbering outside having very very very strange dreams, but then again, what else is new?

Sunday, Shoji and I spent some quality father-daughter bonding time; Hah! In front of the TV. My suspicions were correct in that I was gonna get stuck with chef duty. I ended up going to the store after all and made a simple little dinner, and Shoji thought he had died and gone to heaven.

It's not that I don't like cooking. I actually quite enjoy it. I guess it'll help pass the time here too as there isn't much else to do in quiet, little Fanelia.

Time passes so slowly here though; I never thought Monday was gonna get here. Nevertheless, Monday is here, and I just realized why I wasn't looking forward too it. Here in Fanelia, the school year begins earlier than in Basram. I went to bed with heavy, sullen, thoughts of what was going to come with Monday.


	4. Confusion

**-.:****Twilight of Escaflowne****:.-**

Chapter 3

**Confusion**

**M**y sleep was filled with dreams. There were so many different scenes meshed together that it was more like a collage than a dream. One dream consisted of a battlefield. Perhaps this one was the most memorable as it was so clear, it was almost as if I was actually there. There was so much carnage and blood, that my stomach was heaving at the sight. Many bodies were so mutilated that you couldn't tell that they were actually human.

When you looked beyond the pile of dead bodies, the sky was an ominous red and the clouds were black. It was very eerie. The whole field was cast in darkness even though you could see the sun directly overhead. The sun wasn't even its normal brightness though, either. It was a red orb in the sky, barely shining through a thick layer of dust and smoke. The moon was right next to it. I was surprised to see that it was visible in plain daylight. It was quite large, too, as if it was on a collision course with Gaea. It was al so confusing. I began to wonder if I was even on Gaea. Then I noticed yet another orb in the sky that looked just like Gaea, and I knew then that I wasn't on Gaea, but a strange new land that was a desert wasteland of rotting corpses.

Then I heard yelling and charging in the distance. I squinted my eyes to see a cloud of dust rising on the horizon. I heard horses neighing and swords clashing. I guess the fight wasn't over. There was something else too. They had the figures of men and where also fighting amongst one another. The weird thing is that they were huge! They looked like giant, armored men. Robots perhaps? Was I in the future where man's wars were fought in robots now?

I'll tell ya, this dream was just getting weirder and weirder by the second. Before I could think too much about it, the scene changed to a forest; _what was it with me and forests lately!? _

This forest was different, though. It seemed older, more ancient. It was as if the trees themselves were watching me. Speaking of trees, these ones were the biggest trees I had ever scene in my life! They rivaled the redwood forest back home!!!

I could hear beards up in the canopy, and was that a rodent scuttling in the bush?

Then I heard singing. It was the most beautiful singing I had heard in my entire life.

_Win dain a lotica_

_En val tu ri_

_Si lo ta_

_Fin dein a loluca_

_En dragu a sei lain_

_Vi fa-ru les shutai am_

_En riga-lint_

I found myself drawn to the music. I couldn't understand a word; it was in some other language that I wasn't familiar with. But it was so enchanting.

I began walking in the direction the music was coming from without even realizing it. It was as if it was calling me, pulling the inner strings to my soul…

_Win chent a lotica_

_En val turi_

_Silota_

_Fin dein a loluca_

_Si katigura neuver_

_Floreria for chesti_

_Si entina_

I didn't even know how long I had been walking. I had lost all track of time. It was just me, and that beautiful music, and I had to find its source.

_Lalala... Fontina Blu Cent_

_De cravi esca letisimo_

_Lalala... De quantian_

_La finde reve_

As I was walking, I noticed a small clearing in the forest. I could tell that it was where the music was coming from. I was still too far away to see who was the beholder of the magical voice, but I could see that it was hardly a clearing in the forest and the only reason I could see it now was due to a small beam of light that broke through the forest's thick canopy.

As I neared it, I could see that standing in the middle of the light was a woman and a dog. No. A wolf; that thing was far too huge to be a dog. They were facing in a different direction to where I couldn't make out her face, but I could see that the dog was sitting at her side. It was so huge, that sitting it was almost taller than she was! There was no hostility and I could tell that she wasn't in danger as her hand was resting lovingly on the dogs back and they were leaning against each other.

_Win dain a lotica_

_En vai tu ri_

_Si lo ta_

_Fin dein a loluca_

_En dragu a sei lain_

_Vi fa-ru les shutai am_

_En riga-lint_

The singing stopped, and I desperately picked up my pace to reach the spot where the woman and the wolf had been. I needed to hear that song again. When I broke through the last ring of trees into the clearing, though, they were gone, not a trace of them left.

And once more, the scene changed. This time I was in a city, or what appeared to be a city, a city from ancient times that is. The streets were made of cobblestone, and the houses were simple, made from rock and clay, and very close together.

It was dark, and it appeared that I was in a back alley. I didn't know which way to go, or what I was supposed to see or do here, so I just started walking.

I was just about to turn a corner when I heard voices. They were hushed voices, but I can tell that it was a man and a woman. I decided to stay hidden, as I didn't know if they could see me or not.

Ever since I came to Fanelia, all I've wanted to do is sleep, and when I do sleep, my dreams are vivid. I have always been able to understand my dreams and they were very clear in my childhood, but they were also realistic.

As of late, my dreams have been fantastic, but they have been so vivid, it's been hard to tell that they were dreams and not reality. Not to mention that they were pretty farfetched to be true.

I peeked around the corner to see the whispering figures. It was dark and the only thing I could see were their silhouettes from the light of the moon. They wore hooded cloaks that hid their faces and their bodies from sight. I was close enough to hear bits of what they were saying.

"…_don't leave…"_

"…_my father…this isn't right…forbidden…"_

"…_I know…I don't care…I must see you again…"_

"…_get caught…they'll kill us…forbidden…"_

"…_there must be a way…I'll find it…what's that?!"_

"…_footsteps?...can't be seen!..."_

"…_meet me again…behind the castle…have a plan…"_

"…_I trust you...want to be with you…"_

"…_hurry….before they see us…I love you…"_

"…_I love you…"_

I had a hard time fitting together what little I could hear. I heard footsteps coming towards us and saw the couple hastily embrace then run off in opposite directions.

The scene changed. It appeared that I was on a street in front of houses built into a Cliffside. The buildings seemed to go as high as the eye could see, and at the very top of the cliff was a huge tree. The walls of the buildings were covered in vines and the city was filled with trees and gardens.

_Was I in Babylon?_

It was a beautiful sunny day with not a cloud in sight and when I looked out over what seemed to be a terrace, the most glorious sight beheld me.

I looked out over a vast city. This one appeared to be from the same time period, except the architecture was more magnificent. The city seemed to be on a cliff or landmass that looked out over the ocean, as the very edge of the city abruptly ended and I can imagine that the sea was a sudden drop below.

But that wasn't what held my attention. In the sky were people! And they had wings like angels! _Ok, now I know I'm dreaming._

Everywhere I looked these angels flew in the sky above the city. They were beautiful, and this place was so serene. I wanted to leap from the wall and join them in flight. The thought was so intriguing, that I was in the motions of doing so when the scene changed yet again.

I was in a room, with one of the angels. The room was dark, and I cold only see the person's wings as they gave off their own light. He? Was huddled in a corner, sitting with his knees up to his chest. He was rocking back in forth as if he was having some kind of nervous reaction or anxiety attack.

Then his body started convulsing, and he cried out. His wings expanded outward, and his muscles twitched. He was heavily perspiring all over his body, and he threw his head back and wailed. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and veins popped out from his neck and forehead. His wings began to dismantle into a flurry of feathers, and he covered his face with his hands and cried out some more.

It was obvious that he was in deep pain, and I didn't know what to do or how to help him. I was at a complete loss, and utterly confused. I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be ok, but I knew that my words couldn't reach him.

By now, his wings had completely disappeared, and he just crouched in the corner, breathing heavily, his cries ceased. He caught his breath and just sat there completely still. His face was still in his hands, and I just stood there, staring at him, lost for what to do.

Suddenly, his body went rigid, and he looked up in my direction. What I saw chilled me to the core of my being. It was a single, blood red eye that peered up at me through his hands and his dark, shaggy bangs. He stared so long that I was sure he was looking at me. I could see his deep black pupil, and his eye held my gaze to where I couldn't look away even if I wanted to. It was such a vivid color of crimson, and so deep, but then it his eye began to go completely black, as if his pupil was bleeding into the rest of his eye. All the while, it continued to stare at me until it was completely black.

I had chills going up and down my spine, and the hair on the back of my neck told me to run, but for some reason, my feet were glued to the spot. Suddenly he lunged at me, so quick that I couldn't react, and then everything went black.

VvvV

**AN: Tell me what you think ^^ I completely re-did this chapter if you hadn't noticed. The original chapter is still here though. I just combined it with chapter 2 to make it a little longer and more interesting. Also, I don't think there are going to be very many changes to chapters 4 through 9, and 10 isn't going to change at all. So it's not going to take me very long to revise these chapters (hopefully) and I'll have chapter 11 up for you possibly before the end of June or the beginning of July. **

**As always, thanks so much to my wonderful reviewers. I can't express enough that you guys are what makes this all worth it. **

**Read and review and I'll see you in the next chapters.**

**Ja Ne**

**TEE**


	5. Introductions

**-.:****Twilight of Escaflowne****:.-**

Chapter 4

**Introductions**

**I **sat up in bed, covered in a cold sweat. My breathing was heavy and ragged, and I couldn't seem to catch my breath. I closed my eyes tightly and counted backwards from 10. When I had calmed down some, I opened my eyes and looked out the window. It was still cloudy, but I could see the first rays of dawn breaking through the clouds and lighting up the forest. I looked at my alarm clock to see that it was a quarter till six; 'time to get up and ready for school.'

Oh how I dreaded that last thought. But I guess there's no way to avoid it. I just had to make it through this day, and then the next, and so on. Life seemed so simple from my point of view, but in reality, it's everything but simple.

I got out of bed, grabbed my bag of toiletries and headed for the bathroom. As I showered, I thought of the dream and the incident from yesterday. Was it just a dream too? No, I'm pretty sure it really happened…

"TOMI! YOUR GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" I jumped.

"OK!"

_I thought Shoji went to work already…_

I got out of the shower, dried off and got dressed, and I brushed my teeth as quick as I could. I grabbed my backpack and flew down the stairs.

"I'm sorry dad," I panted. "What are you doing here? I thought you left already?"

"I did, but I had to come back 'cause I left some paper work behind. Well, I'll be going now. You be sure to make it to school on time," he chided.

"Ok, don't worry, I'll be right out the door behind you," I said.

"Ok. Bye, I'll see you after work."

"Bye…"

I watched as he walked out the door. I grabbed some toast and followed him out. I closed the door and locked it and crossed the lawn to my car. Before I opened the door, I glanced at the woods.

It was a typical day in Fanelia: cloudy with a 100 percent chance of rain. And the fact that the sun wasn't out made the forest even darker than the other day. I unlocked and opened my car door. As I got into the driver's seat, I felt a chill go through me and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I took one last look at the woods next to the house before I started the car and headed to school.

I pulled into the school parking lot to find that it was almost empty. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 7:40. I had 20 minutes to kill before school started. I killed the engine and just sat back in my seat. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt another chill go through me and the hairs on the back of my neck once again stand up.

'What is up with me today?' I thought as I rubbed my arms to get rid of the chill. I glanced around the schoolyard and parking lot. To the right of me, a few parking spaces down, was a very impressive looking car that simply didn't fit in this town. Leaning against it was a boy with unruly black hair and eyes the color of red wine, and he was staring at me. As I stared back, the only coherent thought that went through my mind was 'beautiful.'

I couldn't study his face or any other feature as my gaze was glued to those mahogany red eyes. 'What a strange eye color,' I thought. The sound of other vehicles approaching brought me out of my trance. I looked away from his burning gaze. As soon as I turned my head away, I felt myself inhale and relax for I was quite tense. I took the keys out of the ignition, got out of my car and locked it. I headed for the front entrance of the school. I could feel the gaze of those red eyes burning into me as I stiffly walked to the front door. I didn't even chance another look back at him as I opened the door and nearly slammed it shut.

As soon as the door closed, I sighed and leaned against it.

"Are you ok?" I looked up to see a pretty girl with reddish hair and brown eyes looking at me with interest and curiosity.

"Yes, I'm alright. Thanks." I said.

She smiled and held out her hand, "you must be Hitomi Kanzaki. I'm Yukari Uchida."

I blinked. "How do you know my name?"

"Welcome to Fanelia; a town where everyone knows everyone unless you're new, and then it doesn't take long for the whole town to learn who you are."

I sighed and took her hand. "Just call me Tomi.

_Shoji must have called me Hitomi behind my back. _

"Can you show me where the office is?"

"No prob. How 'bout I wait for you and that way I can show you around the school and your classes?" She asked.

"Uh…sure…ok," I said.

I entered the office and walked up to the receptionist's desk.

"Good morning," she said as I walked up. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Hitomi Kanzaki," I informed her.

I saw understanding light her eyes, and I watched her dig through a file of folders.

"Here is your schedule, and here is a map of the school," she said as she took a highlighter and marked my classes and the quickest routes to each one of them on the map.

"Thanks," I said as she handed it to me. I turned around and exited the small room to see Yukari leaning against the wall by the doorway. She stood straight up as soon as she saw me and walked up to me.

"What are your classes?" She asked.

"My first class is Japanese. Second period is English. Next I have Pre-Calculus and then Biology. After lunch I have Government and Gym."

"Cool. We have English, Pre-Cal, and Government together!" She said. "I'll show you to Japanese and then I'll see you in English ok?"

"Alright," I said as we walked to my first period. When we arrived at the classroom entrance, I turned around and said, "Thanks."

"See ya next period," she said as she turned to leave.

So far, my day hadn't been as crappy as I thought it would be. I went to the teacher's desk and had her sign my slip. She assigned me to a seat behind a boy with short brown hair and plain brown eyes. He was actually not that bad looking; he was very handsome, but compared to the boy from this morning, his looks were quite blunt.

I sat down in the desk behind him and waited for the class to begin. I looked at my watch and it read 7:56; class would start in four minutes. The boy in front of me turned around in his seat and smiled at me.

"Hi, my name is Amano. You must be Hitomi," he said.

I smiled as pleasantly as I could, "Just call me Tomi."

"So you're a big city girl huh?" He tried to strike up conversation.

"Yah," was my reply.

"What was your old school like?" he asked.

"Big," was all I said.

He began to ask another question but the bell rang and everyone who waited till the last minute rushed to their seats. The teacher walked in and began to take roll. I was hoping she wouldn't call attention to me, but after she was finished she announced my presence, "As you all may have noticed, we have a new student named Hitomi Kanzaki."

"Tomi," Amano corrected.

The teacher looked at him pointedly before continuing, "Let's all welcome her."

Finally the lesson started to my relief. All the material was stuff I learned back in Basram. So I just relaxed as the lesson drawled on.

Before I knew it, the class had ended. I grabbed my stuff and headed towards the exit.

"Hey Tomi!" Amano called, "What class do you have next?"

"English," I answered.

"Really? That's my next class too. How 'bout we walk there together?"

"Sure," I said.

He fell into step beside me as we walked to our next class together. I looked straight ahead of me. As we turned the corner, I saw the boy from this morning. Our gazes immediately locked and I stopped walking altogether. However, he snapped his gaze away and continued on. I watched as he disappeared in the crowd.

"Hey, are you alright?" I turned to see Amano looking at me with a confused look.

"Yes, I'm fine."

We continued walking, and Amano kept giving me funny looks. He was about to ask me something until we heard someone calling to him.

"Yo Amano!" We turned around to see a boy with short black hair and brown eyes running up to us.

"Hey Tyler, what's up man?" he asked

"Who's the girl?" he asked, "Oh wait, let me guess. Hitomi Kanzaki?"

_I guess everyone really does know who I am. _

I smiled, "Just call me Tomi." That phrase was becoming mechanical.

He smiled back at me, "It's a pleasure. Hey Amano, the football team is meeting today immediately after school in the locker room. Don't be late."

"Alright, I'll be there. Catch ya later."

"Later," and with that we saw Tyler rush to his next class.

I went to the teacher's desk to get my slip signed, and Amano went and found his seat. As soon as the teacher handed me back my slip, I heard Yukari call me name. I looked in her direction and saw her waving at me. I went and sat in a seat that was behind her. Amano sat in the seat to the left of Yukari, adjacent to mine. As soon as I sat down, the bell rang. I was relieved when the teacher didn't introduce me, so I just sat through the lesson. This time I had to pay attention because we hadn't covered this yet at my old high school.

The lesson seemed to drag on for hours on end. Each time I glanced up at the clock, only one or two minutes had passed. Finally to my extreme relief, the bell rang. I quickly gathered my belongings and headed out the door with Yukari.

We stopped by Yukari's locker so she could get her Pre-Cal book and then we headed straight to class. Once again, I gave my slip to my teacher to sign, and found a seat next to Yukari. This lesson wasn't so boring since I enjoyed math.

At my old school, I had been taking Trigonometry, but they didn't offer that here, so I took Pre-Calculus. I paid extremely close attention to the lesson and found that a lot of it had been covered in either Trigonometry, or past math classes I had had back in Basram, so I didn't have to study all that much to my relief.

Class ended and Yukari and I headed out the door together. We walked down the hall until we reached my next class.

"Well, here's your next stop. I've got Gym next so I'll see you at lunch ok? You'll sit with me won't you, and that way I can introduce you to my other friends," she explained.

"Alright," I said.

"See ya later!" she called as she rushed down the hall.

I watched her until she disappeared around the corner. Then I turned into the classroom. When the teacher signed my slip I looked around the room to find an empty seat. I saw Amano again and he smiled at me. There was only one empty seat in the back. I went to go sit down but when I saw whom my lab partner would be, I met the red wine eyes from this morning and froze…

VvvV

**AN: If there are any mistakes, please don't crack down too harshly on me as I don't have a beta reader. I tried my best to find all the mistakes, but I think I may have missed some. **

**You all may have noticed that I didn't make very many changes at all to this chapter…the most significant changes are that I changed the character substitute for Mike Newton from Allen Shezar to Amano. & I decided not to have an Escaflowne substitute for Tyler Crowley since I'm going to need Gaddess later in the story to make the merge with Everlast work. Therefore, Tyler Crowley is just the original Tyler Crowley from Twilight now.**

**Alas, four more chapters to revise before the fun stuff really begins with merging Everlast and all….I'M SO EXCITED!! **

**Ja Ne**

**TEE**


	6. Tension

**Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or Twilight…blah blah blah…**

**-.:****Twilight of Escaflowne****:.-**

Chapter 5

**Tension**

**I**t seemed as if all activity stopped. There was no movement, and the bustling about of the other students ceased. I couldn't look away from his burning gaze. I had no control over my body, and he seemed just as immobile. I was in a trance, and I could feel my cheeks reddening as we continued to stare at each other.

Then time continued with a rush. The bell chimed, signaling the beginning of class, and I had gained control of my body. With a jolt, I tore my gaze from his and sat in my seat. As soon as I was settled, I glanced over at him.

He was very tense. I noticed that he had scooted as far away from me as he could get, sitting on edge of his seat. He was leaning away from me and his face was averted from mine as if he smelled a horrendous stench coming from my direction.

I shook my hair forward over my face to hide my eyes from his. I tried to look indifferent as I sniffed my hair. It smelled like the kiwi melon shampoo I used this morning.

_Maybe he doesn't like kiwis_, I thought.

As the class drawled on, I snuck another look at him. Big mistake; when I looked up from under my bangs, his outrageously handsome face was turned towards mine, and I met the full force of his glare. He looked livid. His eyes were piercing through mine; I found that I couldn't look away.

_Was it me, or were his eyes turning a darker, deeper shade of red?_

I felt a chill pass through me, and I felt genuinely afraid for once in my life. His strong jaw was clenched, and I could see the veins in his neck.

_What is his problem?_

The bell rang, and he tore his gaze from mine. He was up and out the door before any of the other students were out of their seats. I gathered my belongings and rose from my seat as well.

"Hey, what did you do to Fanel?" Amano asked. "I've never seen him act that way before."

"I don't know, I didn't even introduce myself," I said. "I'll see you later. I'm going to sit with Yukari and her friends at lunch."

"Hey, what classes do you have after lunch?" he asked.

"Japanese and then gym."

"Alright, I'll see you in gym then. Later," he called as he headed down the hall.

I went to Yukari's locker so that we could go to lunch together. Along the way, I pondered what happened during 4th period.

What had I done to provoke him so? I know that I'm not the prettiest girl in the world, but I'm not exactly ugly either. Did my breath smell? I had taken a shower and brushed my teeth before school; I shouldn't reek…

"Tomi! Over here!"

I looked over to see Yukari and a bunch of other girls gathered around her locker.

"Hey guys…" I said uneasily.

"Tomi, this is Angela Weber and Lauren Mallory. Angela, Lauren, this is Hitomi Kanzaki and she's gonna hang with us," Yukari explained.

"Hi," I smiled uncertainly. I had always been bad at introductions.

"Hi," Angela and Lauren echoed. An uncomfortable silence was beginning to settle around us.

"Well, let's go get us some of that sorry cafeteria food," Yukari tried to ease the tension between us.

She began to walk towards the cafeteria, and Angela and Lauren fell into step beside her as I followed behind. I felt excluded, but hey, I was used to being a loner from my old school.

I went to take a look at what was on the lunch menu and decided to wait till I got home from school as none of it looked very appetizing.

I went to the table that Yukari, Angela, and Lauren were seated at. I pulled out a seat and just sat down. I rested my head in my arms and began to doze off when I felt the tiny, blonde hairs on my arms and neck rise and a chill go down my back. I immediately sat up straighter and began to look around the cafeteria when I locked gazes with none other than Van Fanel. I couldn't turn my eyes away no matter how much I willed them too.

"Hey Tomi. Ohhh Tooomiii. EARTH TO HITOMI!"

"Oh, what?" I jumped in my seat. I didn't know I had been holding my breath until Yukari pulled me from my trance.

"Dude, do you like have a thing for the Fanels? Cause if you do, give it up already. They don't go with anyone."

"Oh," I sighed? I mean, it's not like I did have my hopes up right?

I continued to glance over at the Fanels's table every now and then to notice that Van had not hindered staring in my general direction.

"Pssst. Tomi. Why is Van staring at you? He's been staring this whole time?" Yukari asked.

"I don't know, I didn't do anything to him, at least I don't think I did," I replied.

Much to my relief, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. I quickly grabbed my backpack and headed to my remaining two classes.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I had Japanese with Amano and he sat right by me. I had him in gym too so we walked together to that class. I wasn't very athletic. The only thing I was good at was running. We played dodge ball and I was immediately out.

After I had changed out of my P.E. clothes I gathered my stuff and headed towards the parking lot. I was too engrossed in my thoughts to notice that a certain someone was leaning against my car. I had paused in my path to fumble with my keys to unlock the doors. As soon as I found it, I looked up and halted.

Green met red and I froze…

VvvV

I didn't know what to do. He was leaning against _my_ car, and looking so utterly delectable while he was at it too!

But then I remembered the rude way he had treated me earlier this morning, and I tried my best to control my swooning and play indifference.

"I'm quite sorry for my rude behavior this morning, I wasn't quite myself," he said.

_Ok, it's just not possible to keep a calm demeanor when he speaks with such a sexy voice lilted with a hint of an Old English accent…Gosh darn it Hitomi! Remember the matter at hand! This is the boy who acted like you were the bane of existence!_

I snapped myself out of my daze and boldly met his gaze with a fierce one of my own.

"Look, I don't know what your deal is, but I don't recall having done anything to you to deserve such treatment. I mean, I didn't even know your name until today!"

_Atta girl! That's the way ta tell him!_

"As I mentioned earlier, I am quite terribly sorry. It's just that you caught me by surprise," he said.

"I don't understand," I answered, wrinkling my forehead in confusion.

"You see, when I first saw you in the parking lot this morning, you looked so familiar, as if I had met you before. And then when you walked into Biology, I was reminded of how familiar you look, and I couldn't figure it out. Not being able to put my finger on it was quite frustrating, and I suppose I didn't conceal my frustration very well. Once again, I apologize. So why don't we put first impressions aside and try to be civilized beings and start over again?"

I was quite surprised at the turn this conversation had taken. I was so sure that I had been in control and then he turned things around to make _me_ the one at wrong! But gosh darn it, how could I resist that oh so handsome face and cute smile he was offering me? Too much more of this and I would be putty in his hands. So I averted my eyes, tried to focus my thoughts, and concentrated on breathing.

"Ok, seems fair enough to me."

His smile widened and my heart melted even more. I swear it just stuttered and skipped a few beats.

_This guy was definitely bad for my health_, I thought.

I too, offered up the sweetest smile I could muster and said, "My name is Hitomi Kanzaki, but I prefer it that people call me…"

"Tomi right?" he interrupted me, "And my name is Van Slanzaär de Fanel, pleased to make your aquaintance my fair maiden." He swooped down into an elegant bow before me as he said this.

_Ok, I'll be a goner for sure if he continues to talk to me like that as it's doing funny things to my heartbeat, which definitely can't be normal._

I was too shocked to say anything. I uneasily glanced around to make sure no one had witnessed Van's bold move, but everyone else seemed to be oblivious to our conversation.

Too fast for me to even notice, Van had straightened up and continued to say, "Surely this can't make up for my dreadful rudeness. There must be some way I can make this up to you."

"N-no really, it's fine, apology accepted," I said a little too cheerfully. "It was nice to uh-meet you Van, but I really need to be going."

Van glanced around the parking lot as if he just remembered where we were. He seemed to notice that everyone else had cleared out and gone home. "Quite. Well it was a pleasure Miss Tomi, but my family is waiting for me as well. We shall meet again and I assure you I will produce proper payment." He winked at me and said, "Be Safe," before he strode off to meet his impatiently awaiting siblings in his fancy Scion tC. Before I had so much as gotten my keys out of my bag and opened my car door, Van and his family had whipped out of the parking spot and sped off down the road.

I opened my car door, threw my bag in the back seat, got in, stuck my key in the ignition, buckled in my seat belt, and leaned back against my seat and heaved a huge sigh as the radio came on.

Everything had happened so fast that I had had a hard time keeping up. Even as I replayed the conversation in my mind, I had trouble making sense of it. Van was very genuine, and he was definitely not the person I had thought he would be. He's dark, and mysterious, and painstakingly handsome, while also chivalrous, polite, and old-fashioned. In the same breath, there was something hostile about him and almost sinister. I couldn't help but be drawn in by his beauty, but somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind, a warning signal was going off. He seemed like he was hiding something that was for sure. His reaction to me in Biology was way to intense to be out of frustration.

I couldn't place what Van was hiding or why he was hiding it from me, he was so composed during our conversation that it was hard to find any holes in his act.

Nevertheless, I knew I couldn't stay away from him even if I tried, and it was my every intention to solve the mystery of Van Slanzaär de Fanel.

VvvV

**AN: As you all can probably tell, this chapter has changed quite a bit. Marlene and Eries are no longer the substitute characters for Angela and Lauren, & these characters are now their original characters from Twilight. **

**Also, I added quite a bit to this chapter, and those of you who have read this story before, you'll notice that I tacked on the content from chapter 6 to the end of this chapter with some adjustments. I decided to redo their conversation as I felt that in the original conversation, Van was turning out to be a little too OOC for my comfort, and his character was straying too far from the way I wanted it to be. Also, the way he acted in the original chapter 6 was a little too un-Edward-ish and we can't have that since Van is the replacement character for Edward Cullen from Twilight. **

**Nevertheless, in Chapter 6, I have a completely different scene planned since I felt that the events between chapter 5 and 7 are way to rushed for my comfort, and it skips over some of the things I wanted to use from the original Twilight plot. Therefore, I've decided to use chapter 6 to add some of those scenes. **

**I hope you enjoyed this past chapter as much as I have, and for my old readers, I hope you like the adjustments to Van that I have made. I'm really excited for the next chapter so stay tuned!**

**By the way, Van's car is a sizzling crimson mica Scion tC—which is a very very very sexy car if I do say so myself ;)**

**And as always, R&R as your comments are what keep me going!!!**

**Ja ne**

**TEE**


	7. Surprises

**-.:****Twilight of Escaflowne****:.-**

Chapter 6

**Surprises**

The next day went fairly normal. My boring life seemed to flow through the daily routines of life. The only thing of interest was Biology, the only class I had with Van Fanel, of whom I sat right next to. And even that didn't go so great.

Even though Van had graciously apologized to me yesterday after school, he still continued to keep his distance. I mean, don't get me wrong; he was polite and all. It's just that he sat as far away from me as he possibly could without sitting in the middle of the aisle and without being too obvious.

He sat very rigidly, and I could see the blue of his veins as they popped out from the deathly pale skin on the backs of his tightly clenched hands. His jaw was clenched and I could tell that he was breathing through his mouth as his lips—oh those wondrously luscious lips—were ever so slightly parted.

And just like the day before, he was out of his seat and flying through the door before the bell had even finished ringing. I tried not to let it bother me, but there was something about me he definitely didn't like, and it didn't seem like he was trying very hard to conceal it without being rude.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on as slowly as biology had, if not slower. All during lunch, I tried to inconspicuously sneak glances over towards the Fanels; I think my attempt was fatal. But I just couldn't help it. I couldn't figure out what it was about me that bothered Van so much, and I didn't want to be a nuisance to him. I wanted him to like me, not hate me. But I sighed as my thoughts down lover's lane came to a crashing halt at the realization that it was highly improbable Van had a slither of interest for me judging by the way he acted around me. And who was I kidding? The only reason Van apologized to me and wanted to make it up to me was because he pitied me.

_Well, at least I can dream_, I thought.

When school ended, I showered and changed as quickly as I could, grabbed my bag, and dashed out of the girls locker room, power-walking in the direction of my car. I dug through my bag in search of my keys as I walked, so I didn't even notice him leaning against my car until I was practically at my door. When I found my keys and looked up, I wasn't even 15 feet from my car, and I abruptly halted.

My breath hitched in my throat. I hadn't even noticed that I'd been holding it until Van pushed himself off my car and began to walk towards me. The whole while, I found that I couldn't tear my eyes from his burning gaze. He seemed to be reading my very soul.

As he neared, my palms grew sweaty and my heartbeat quickened. Everything else was non-existent. All that I was aware of was him and me and that the tattoo of my heart was so loud that I was sure even he could hear it.

He was now just a step away from me, and I was positive that I would soon pass out from lack of oxygen. I noticed his perfect lips curl up into a tiny smirk as if he knew what I was thinking, then they parted slightly as if he were about to say something. This broke our gaze, bringing my current attention to those oh-so-perfect lips. They lacked color, but I was too astounded with the "Adonis" standing before me to take note of it. Being in such proximity with him, I could see that he had a perfectly straight chiseled nose and high cheekbones placed strategically below his defined brow. He had a strong jaw connected to a long graceful neck which descended below his collar and connected to what I could see where very broad shoulders. I watched his adam's apple bobble up and down as he swallowed.

_This man should be a model. Christ! He was every artist's dream!!_ I thought.

Just when I was beginning to wish that I could catch him shirtless on a nice sunny day somewhere on some secluded beach, he spoke.

You would think that it would break the spell, but alas, it drew me deeper into the trance. That strong tenor voice spoke to me. It wasn't too deep, or too girlishly high, in fact, his voice was so perfect, that it even sent little chills racing down my spine. I tried to focus on what he was saying, but that only brought my attention back to those beautifully full lips of his, which were the nightmare of every girl's parents. I began to wonder what it'd be like to be kissed by those luscious lips of his.

"Tomi? Are you ok?" he asked as he reached out and lightly touched the back of my wrist. That did it. Even though there was fabric between his touch on my skin, there was still a spark of electricity which caused us both to jump apart, breaking the spell much to my relief, and at the same time, to my disappointment.

My cheeks reddened as I looked away. I took a step back, but he stepped closer. Gods didn't he know what that did to me? Once again, a war drum sounded in my chest. I was sure he could hear it then.

I've thought of a way to make up for my behavior from the day before.

_Oh, is that the only reason he's here before me? _I thought somewhat dejected.

"Really?" I asked genuinely. "And what did you have in mind?"

"Well, since it appears that there isn't much to do here in Fanelia, my options were limited. I thought a nice cup of coffee before school started would be nice or perhaps dinner in Austuria?"

I was still kinda hurt from his enmity displayed earlier, so I didn't answer right away. Apart of me wanted to reject him as payback, but that naturally female side of me was giddy at the thought of going out on a date with this gorgeous man before me, and canceled out any rational thinking.

"I don't drink coffee," I suddenly realized and blurted out.

"Hot cocoa or tea perhaps?"

_Now we were getting somewhere! _"Ok, I'll think about it."

I didn't want to seem too eager so I decided to play hard-to-get even though the hormone-crazy teenaged girl inside me was screaming YES!

"Perfect. I'll let you know of the time and date later as I won't be going to school tomorrow, and I don't know how long I'll be out for."

"Why won't you be at school tomorrow?" I was curious.

He flashed a very pearly-white, toothy grin as if he were enjoying the irony of some inside joke or something. "The forecast tomorrow is bright and sunny…" I interrupted him with a snort at the possibility.

"Sunny? Fanelia? The most dreary place on Gaea?" I was being sarcastic.

"No, I'm certain the weather outlook is going to be accurate. You'll see. Anyway, when the weather is nice—which is rare in Fanelia as you know—my brother, Emmett, and I like to go camping in the woods. When I return from my trip, we can discuss the details and finalize the decision. In the meantime, we can get to know each other better as I realized that I don't know much about you other than your name." He flashed a dazzling smile at me, and I felt me knees go weak. Much to my embarrassment, they gave out, and I collapsed. Expecting to meet ground, I found two arms and a very solid body supporting me and I looked into two very dangerous eyes that belonged to none other than Van, himself. He helped me stand and hurriedly put distance between us as though he'd been burned.

"Are you ok," he asked me after I had gained my composure.

"Yes," I answered, disappointed and confused by his reluctance to be near me. "I, uh, have weak knees, sorry."

Despite the awkward situation, he maintained his suavity and held my car door for me as I slid in. Once I was safely buckled in, I turned to Van. "Well, I guess…I'll uh… see later."

"Adieu mademoiselle. Be safe, the roads are slippery," I caught my breath at his parting as he delivered it with a flawless French accent. It sent chills of delight cascading down my back. He backed away as I shifted into reverse and pulled out. I felt my foot shaking on the gas as I pulled out of the drive and onto the road. I looked in my rear-view mirror to see him still standing in the same place, watching me as I drove away. Once I had turned the bend, I felt a smile turn up the corners of my lips and I felt a giggle forming in my chest.

Yes, today had turned out to be quite the experience…

VvvV

**AN: Ok, for those of you who are wondering, here's Van's and Hitomi's class schedules.**

**Hitomi:**

**Japanese  
English  
Pre-Calculus  
Biology  
Lunch  
Government  
Gym**

**Van:**

**Calculus  
Japanese  
English  
Biology  
Lunch  
Gym  
Government**

**Also, the reason's behind Van's absence from school will be revealed soon; I promise. For those of you who have read Twilight, you can probably guess why, but I'm doing it a little different than Stephenie Meyer did it. You'll just have to wait and see what I mean by this, but I decided that I didn't want to completely follow Twilight anyway, and that I'm just going to throw in a few plot similarities. Besides, if I decided to follow Twilight, this story would never be finished, and it wouldn't work with Everlast and Escaflowne. **

**As you may notice, the changes to this chapter are few. I just added a little segment at the beginning to help the transition from chapter 5 to 6.**

**Next chapter isn't expected to change much either, just a few little cosmetic issues, as well as chapters 7, 8, 9, and 10. So from here on out, expect the updates to be quick, and I hope to have chapter 11 posted by July 1****st****; lets see if I can do it ;)**

**Ja Ne**

**TEE**


	8. Pleased to Make Your Acquaintance

**Ok, this disclaimer applies to all chapters from here on out. I do not own Escaflowne, or Twilight, or any other works expressed in this fanfic.**

**-.:****Twilight of Escaflowne****:.-**

Chapter 7

**Pleased to Make Your Acquaintance**

**T**rue to his word, I didn't see hide or hair of Van, or any of the Fanels for that matter—_I guess the whole family decided to go camping_—for the next few days. It was almost a week before I saw them at lunch again, but there was still no sign of Van. I assumed he must have caught a cold or something.

Two weeks after my arrival in Fanelia, I drove into school early to see him leaning against his car…his very nice car… HOW THE HELL DID HE GET A CAR LIKE THAT?!?!? IN A TOWN LIKE THIS NO LESS!!!

The object of my ogling was a very sharp red Ferrari. I could already feel my mouth beginning to water. I pulled my not-so-sharp car up right next to his and got out. My mouth obviously hadn't closed yet (in fact, it must have been hanging down to the ground) for Van couldn't suppress his chuckle.

"I see you have taken a liking to this baby," he pointed out.

"Yes, it's beautiful. Where did you get a car like this?!"

"Oh this is nothing. Wait till you see my sister, Rosalie's, car. Then you'll really drool." He seemed to take amusement in the fact that my mouth was falling off my face cause his smile showed no hint of subsiding. "So, what brings you to school this early in the morning?"

"I always come to school really early. I like being the first one here to watch everyone else show up. Plus it gives me sometime to myself before school starts."

"Well, it appears that I beat you."

"Yes, it does appear that away. And why is that may I ask?"

"Ah, but I showed up early just for you. Do you mind if I intrude on your "alone" time to take you out for cocoa and maybe a bite to eat?"

"No, not at all, but you really don't have t—"

"I insist. Really it's no big deal, and you can go ahead and swallow that remark because I intend to apologize for my behavior and you my find that I can be quite stubborn, so you might as well acquiesce."

With a sigh, I complied. "Alright but on one condition," he looked expectantly at me, "we're taking my car."

"That rundown piece of junk?" I took personal offense to that.

"Have respect. This car is probably older than you." I berated. I saw a peculiar smile flash on his face, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. It was sort of a mischievous smile, or like an 'I know something you don't know' smile… I would ponder on it for the entire ride to the café.

I could see him continuously glance at the clock out of the corner of my eye. Then he audibly sighed, "Can this thing go any slower?" he asked with sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Sure it can," I replied.

"Then for God's sakes pick up the pace."

"Are you going to pay my speeding ticket?" I asked and glanced his way. He had a silly grin plastered onto his face. I would come to wonder if he was bipolar. He was a hostile, stuck up, 'get the hell away from me' sort one minute, and the next he was a goofball or an airhead for lack of a better word. "What's gotten into you?" I laughed as I tossed my hair out of my face. He inhaled a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes, as if he was smelling the most delicious fragrance, and slowly exhaled. "Oh, we're here."

"Thank the Lord." More sarcasm. I was beginning to wonder if it was his middle name.

I pulled into the parking lot of a cute little café just 5 minutes away from the school. I took a note of the time—7:15—and got out and locked up the car. I came around to where Van was standing, and we walked in together. He chose a window seat and pulled my chair out for me. I sat down and he went around the table to sit directly across from me.

"What can I get you kids to drink?" we both looked up to see a middle aged woman dressed in a white button up shirt with black slacks, holding a pencil and notebook.

"I'll have a cup of hot cocoa please."

"Just water," Van said after me.

"Alrighty then, here are your menus and your drinks'll be right out."

"These won't be necessary." I said as I attempted to hand her back my menu.

"You're not hungry?" Van asked

"No, I already ate breakfast." I lied, and right on queue, my stomach growled. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Ok, I didn't eat breakfast, but I don't need to."

"Yes, you do," he took a menu from the waitress and put in front of me. "It's not healthy to skip meals," he berated me.

"No really, I never eat breakfast," I tried to explain. In the end, he won. So I accepted the menu and searched for the smallest and lightest breakfast I could find. I ended up ordering a meal big enough for a king, due to Van's bantering. Van had ordered for me sausage, eggs, pancakes, a bowl of fruit, a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice, biscuits and gravy, and steamed vegetables. I looked up at him. "What about you?" he just smiled.

When the waitress brought my meal out, it was all I could do from laughing. "You expect me to eat this all by myself?"

"No, I'll help you."

"I do hope you're paying for this…" I glared at him.

"Why of course. I did say that I would take you out for a drink and a bite to eat didn't I."

"Exactly; a drink and a _bite_ to eat," I stressed.

"Stop talking and enjoy you're breakfast. We're going to be late for school if you keep spouting excuses," he said as he began to split my meal between the two of us. Even then, I couldn't eat it all. When I looked across the table at him, I noticed that he couldn't finish his either, in fact, it looked like he had hardly touched it. The waitress brought us our tab. I was afraid to look at it. He glanced at it and slipped out his debit card to give to the waitress.

"What time is it?" I asked

"7:30," he replied.

"Really, it doesn't feel like it's only been 15 minutes. I feel as if we've been here and hour."

"So, since I never did get to properly introduce myself," he began and held out his hand, "my name is Van Fanel."

I smiled and took his hand in a 'cool' grasp "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Van. My name is Hitomi Kanzaki."

"Well Miss Kanzaki—"

"Tomi, just call me Tomi."

"Yes, Tomi. The pleasure is all mine."

I just smiled and sat there in a comfortable silence. "Thank you, Van. The meal was excellent, and I accept your apology. I do hope we could do something like this again."

"Certainly. You're going to have to allow me to intrude on your "alone" time more often," he said, and revealed perfect teeth to me in a toothy grin. "But next time, I'm driving."

"Deal." I sighed and looked around for the clock to see it was 7:45. "As much as I hate too, we should probably get back to school before we're late."

"Yes, a dreary obligation." I laughed.

"You dislike school?" I asked, surprised. He seemed like the studious type.

"Unfortunately, yes. Well, shall we?" He gestured towards the exit.

VvvV

**I'm sorry, I wasn't able to make the July 1****st**** deadline I made for myself, but I tried, really I did. My days just aren't so free anymore as I have begun my summer session of college at ASU. Well, I'll try my best to update often, but I'm not making any guarantees. I'll tell you now that I will at least, at **_**least**_** finish revising and get back to the real story by the end of the month so sit tight. So happy belated 4****th**** of July everyone!!!**

**Ciao**

**TEE**


	9. Getting Comfortable

**-.:Twilight of Escaflowne:.-  
**Chapter 8  
**Getting Comfortable**

**A**fter we arrived at school that morning, we went our separate ways: he to his first hour which I discovered was Calculus and I to Japanese.

My first two periods went by fairly quickly. I didn't pay any attention to class. My mind was too occupied by the hottest guy in Escaflowne High.

I couldn't help but think about how different he was. It was like he had undergone a transformation the two weeks he was gone. Where did he go those two weeks? What did he do? Why did he go?

Not that I was complaining. I think I greatly prefer this new chivalrous Van over the hostile one I first met.

By the time I got to third period, I was practically in a daze; I couldn't get my mind off of him. I was even called on it a couple of times by the teacher who reprimanded me for not paying attention to the lecture. Finally he gave up and stopped pestering me.

I kept glancing at the clock, eagerly waiting for next period, Chemistry, where I'd see Van again. As the end of class drew nearer, my heart beat quickened, and I could feel my face beginning to color. I really didn't want to see Van now, 'cause I knew that my God awful cheeks would betray me. I tried to calm down before the bell rang but to no avail.

I gathered my stuff together and waited for it to ring. It felt like eternity, but class did finally come to an end. I was the first one out the door, and it was all I could do to keep from sprinting to class.

I was walking as fast as I could walk without running. I was about to turn the corner when I ran into Gaddess Crowley. The force of our collision sent me tumbling to the ground. I hastily began to gather my things.

"I'm terribly sorry. Here, let me give you a hand," Gaddess apologized.

He knelt down next to me and helped me pick my stuff up and then helped me to my feet. With a sigh, I gathered my composure.

"Hey Tomi? What's the rush? It's not like your going to be late or anything?" He asked.

"Yah, I know, I just like to have a few minutes to myself before class."

"I really am sorry. I didn't see you coming. What's your 4th period?"

"Chemistry." I blushed as I thought of what came with 4th period.

Mistaking my blush for shyness, he smiled and continued. "Ya know, there's a Sadie Hawkins's dance this Friday," he began.

I was really starting to get irritated with him. "Yah, so I've heard."

"How bout goin' with me to make up for our little rendezvous?"

I didn't like the terminology he used in that last sentence and I was going to be late for 4th period. "I thought it was girl's choice?" I frowned.

"Well, yah, but that doesn't mean I can't ask… You think about it and give me your answer tomorrow 'kay?" I nodded and quickly brushed past him.

I was successful in calming my nerves down before 4th period as I had completely forgot about Van after my unpleasant collision with Gaddess, that is, until I walked into class.

I hastily made my way back to the table I shared with Van, frowning as I sat down and situated myself. I was currently occupied with Gaddess's disturbing invitation when I heard the most beautiful voice I had ever heard.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I snapped out of it and made eye contact with the object of my attention during the first three classes.

I was dumbfounded. "What?"

He smiled and I could see a twinkle of amusement in those crimson orbs of his. "You seemed to be in such deep thought, that I couldn't help but wonder what was unnerving you."

I once again became irritated at the thought of Gaddess. "Oh, it's nothing. So how was your morning?" I attempted to change the subject.

He recognized my diversion, but didn't persist. "Oh, it went…slowly…" he said, giving me a pointed gaze.

I felt butterflies in my stomach at his foreshadowing, but couldn't hope. My heartbeat quickened and I felt my cheeks once again burst into flame.

He smiled knowingly. It didn't surprise me as he must have had many girls before me. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the thought.

I turned my attention to Mr. Reublin as he began to explain the lesson. I tried to pay attention, but couldn't with Adonis sitting next to me.

I felt my palms begin to sweat in my lap and the butterflies in my stomach beat their wings in a flurry. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Van staring at me; that didn't help the situation at all. My heart skipped a beat, and as if he heard it, he smirked at me.

When Mr. Reublin was finished explaining the lab, he began to pass the procedures out. I took a glance at them and recognized the lesson my chemistry class in Basram had done last semester. 'Thank God,' I thought because I didn't pay any attention to the lecture.

Working together, Van and I were the first group to finish. 'Either he's really smart, or he's done this before…' I mused to myself.

There was 15 minutes of class left by the time we finished so we spent it getting to know one another; personally, and physically.

As he talked, I examined his face to every last detail. I etched he strong brow, his perfectly straight nose, his perfectly chiseled and clean shaven jaw, and those oh so sensuous lips into my memory.

I memorized the way they moved as he talked, and the way he had one persistent stand of hair that always fell in front of his eyes. His untamable hair was fixed in a way that only he could pull off.

I listened to his peculiar accent, trying to pinpoint its origins. Those eyes didn't require my careful scrutiny as they had already been burned into my memory at first sight, but that didn't stop me from gazing into them.

He too seemed to be taking my measures. Normally, under these circumstances, I'd be embarrassed to no end at a man's examination of me, but with him, I was just as intent upon learning him as he was me.

I wanted to know the feel of that deathly pale skin. I wanted to touch him and hold his hands. Would they be warm, for they looked cold? I wanted to know why his eyes were the burgundy red color that they were, for I had never seen eyes like his before.

I wondered what the feel of his lips on mine would be like. I wondered what it'd be like to have his hands hold mine. I wanted to run my hands though his wild hair. I wanted to correct that persistent strand that always fell in his face.

I wanted so much, but I was afraid to loose the friendly terms we were on. I had realized that not once had he ever touched me. Not so much as a brush of the hands, knees, or shoulders. It was like he was being extra careful to not touch me, and I wanted to know why.

I hadn't realized how long I had been sitting there simply staring at him as he had been me until Mr. Reublin began to collect the assignment three minute before the bell rang.

"Would you care to join me for lunch?" Van asked me

"With your family?" I asked, surprised.

"No, we'll sit at a table all to ourselves."

"Oh, ok. Sure."

I began to put my stuff away when I noticed that all Van carried around with him was a pencil and a notebook.

"Is that all you use in school?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"Pardon?"

"I mean just one notebook and a pencil? You don't have a separate notebook for each class? Do you even take notes during lectures?" I asked.

"Oh," he said, "No, I have no need to take notes. I just use this one for assignments."

"How do you get good grades in school?" I asked perplexed, "Do you cram before every test?"

He laughed at my innocent curiosity. "No, I don't really need to study."

Suddenly a thought hit me, "You must be one of those people that have a photographic memory or something, right?"

He smirked, "You could say that."

Before I could say anything else, the bell rang. I stood up, pushed my stool in, and headed towards the exit, with Van at my side.

We walked down the hall and into the cafeteria where Van and I sat at a table in the middle. I glanced around to notice Yukari and the others giving us wide-eyed expressions.

I looked in the Fanel's direction to see Merle and Dryden talking animatedly. Chid was sitting right next to Merle looking as bored as ever, and Millerna was glaring daggers at either me or Van, or both of us. I quickly looked away to see Van glaring daggers right back at her.

"You and Millerna don't get along very well?" I asked

Van looked at me surprised, "No, what makes you think that?"

"Oh, you guys were just immersed in your own silent little war, I assumed that you guys weren't on the best of terms."

"Well, Millerna has very different ideas and standards than I do, so we don't always get along, but I still love her like a sister. Millerna's just hard to please, that's all."

"Oh," I said and began to fiddle with my hands, now conscience of the whole cafeteria ogling in our direction. Van just simply sat there and stared at me.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

I looked up, "oh, no, I brought my lunch."

I reached into my bag and pulled out a banana bar. "That's all your going to eat?!" Van exclaimed.

"Yah. I don't have a very big appetite for lunch, and the cafeteria food doesn't look all that inviting," I said. "What about you? Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"No, I must agree with you on the cafeteria food," he chuckled.

I smiled and glanced over at the Fanels. Millerna was no longer glaring at us, but she still didn't look too happy. It made me wonder what had passed between her and Van. They all had a lunch in front of them, but from where I was sitting, I could see that they hadn't taken so much as a bite.

"I know!" I said as an idea to pass the time popped into my head. "Why don't we play a game?"

Van looked thoroughly interested. "Ok, what kind of game is it?"

"It's called 20 Questions. The name is self explanatory."

"So we pretty much ask each other questions?" he looked doubtful.

"Pretty much. It's a way to get to know each other. Me and my mom used to play it everyday after school." I smiled at the memory.

"Ok?" he asked.

"Each player has 20 questions to ask their partner. They can be any kind of question. They can be personal, trivial, political, riddles, jokes, worldly, opinions…anything you want to ask. And the person being asked MUST answer them truthfully."

"Ok, it's almost like that game Truth or Dare, except with out the Dare," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Exactly."

"Who goes first?" he asked.

"I'll start." I said. "What is your middle name?"

"Slanzar," he said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"That's a cool name… I said, what's its orgin?"

"Hey now, isn't it my turn?" he smirked.

"Oh right, sorry…" I blushed.

"What's your middle name?" he asked after a brief pause.

"Iris."

"Very pretty. You look like an iris…"

"Thank you," I blushed deeper. "Hmmm…what is your favorite color?"

"Red."

"Like your eyes?"

"Is that your third question?"

"No."

"Then it's my turn. What's _your_ favorite color."

"Green."

"Like _your_ eyes?"

"Is that _your_ third question?"

He smirked before answering, "yes."

"Yes, my eyes are green, but that's not why green is my favorite color…" I said.

"Then what is it?" he asked

"Is that your fourth question?"

"Yes."

"Green is my favorite color, because it's the color of the earth."

"Ah yes, it is a green planet, but it is also called a blue planet," his eyes twinkled with amusement. I glared back at him.

"Alright smarty pants," I huffed. "Why is red your favorite color?"

"Because it's the color of blood." He seemed to have a deeper meaning behind his words. It was almost as if his eyes were daring me to ask.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

His eyes danced with a hidden secret. He wagged his pointer finger at me. "It's my turn.

When's your birthday?"

"October 2." I was about to ask what he meant by his last question, but then the bell rang. Van gave me a triumphant smile as if he had won an inner battle.

I grabbed my bag and noticed how the Fanels threw their untouched food in the garbage. 'Now what's the point in that?' I thought. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Farewell, Tomi," he said before we went our separate ways.

As I made my way to government, I couldn't help but ponder the meaning behind Van's words. What did he mean by red being the color of blood his reason as to why it was his favorite color? What did that strange look in his eyes mean? Is he hiding something? And if he is, what is it?

All through government and gym, I thought about Van. I couldn't get him out of my thoughts.

When school had ended, I walked from the gym to the parking lot, and ran into Miguel Yorki.

He smiled at me in a cocky way. "Yo Tomi. I heard you don't have a date to the Sadie Hawkins's dance," he began casually. Personally, he kind of scared me.

"No, I don't, and I wasn't planning on going," I added.

"Aw, come on Tomi. If you go with me, I'll be sure to make it a night to remember." I felt a chill go from my head to my toes at those words, and it wasn't a good chill either.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Later Miguel." I brusquely pushed past him. I didn't want to see his reaction to my rejection. In all honesty, I really wasn't planning on going, and besides, I already had Gaddess ask me, and it was hard enough getting out of that.

"Miguel doesn't seem too happy." I looked to see Van leaning casually against my car.

"Great," I sighed, "just what I need."

"Let me guess. He asked you to the Sadie Hawkins's dance and you turned him down."

"Right on the money," I rolled my eyes. "I already had Gaddess ask me this morning before 4th hour."

"Oh, so that's what had you so concerned."

"Yah," I sighed. "I really don't want to go; I can't dance worth beans, and I don't see why they'd want to go with someone like me…" I said.

He gave me an unreadable expression. "You really don't give yourself enough credit." I looked at him, startled by his words. He smiled before continuing, "Have a safe drive home, not that you could get an any kind of serious accident with this old rusted piece of metal, but nevertheless, be safe."

I was touched by his concern, but in the same breath, offended at his mockery of my car. "You watch it mister. My car is the kind of car that would clobber the cheap metal of yours."

He smirked and raised an eyebrow at me. "Is that so?" He opened my door for me as I got in. "Ciao." He closed my door as I started the engine and backed out. As I drove away, I saw him standing in the same place where I had left him. He hadn't so much as taken a step, and he simply watched me as I disappeared around the corner.

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**AN: Wow, that was one loooooong chapter. The longest I've written yet!!**

**Good news!!: I have finally gotten off my lazy butt and outlined my thoughts for this story!! So that means it'll be easier to write the chapters, and that means (hopefully) more frequent updates!! Lol Up until now, I had been writing this story as it had come to me which is probably why I had sooo much writer's block… heh heh…**

**Well, for anyone who's interested, here's Hitomi's and Van's schedules**

**Hitomi:  
1. Japanese  
****2. English  
****3. Pre-Cal  
****4. Chemistry  
****- Lunch  
****5. Government  
****6. Gym**

**Van:  
1. Calculus  
****2. Japanese  
****3. English  
****4. Chemistry  
****- Lunch  
****5. Gym  
****6. Government**

**Don't forget to review on your way out **

**Ciao  
****TEE**


	10. Vision

**AN: Ok everyone……I AM SOOOO TERRIBLY SORRY!!!! I HAVE BEEN THE WORST AUTHOR EVER & I SWORE TO MYSELF THAT I WOULDN'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!! But alas, I have graduated from high school and gotten back into my fanfiction craze. You see, during high school, I got waaaaaay to busy, I got a boyfriend, I have horses, & between all that and keeping a perfect 4.00 GPA and graduating at the top of my class as Valedictorian….well, let's just say it wasn't easy and I completely lost all interest in fanfiction…& I'll be honest, this story really didn't have any direction and I didn't have any clue of where I was going to go with it…but I had a brilliant idea. A few years ago, I began writing a story completely my own during my free time. I titled it ****Everlast**. **Unfortunately, I stopped write in the middle of it, but I do have a storyline for it and it does have direction…So I decided to merge my two stories ****Everlast ****and ****Twilight of Escaflowne****!!! I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I love the idea for I have high hopes for the product of this merger. So without further ado, here is the modified version of ****Twilight of Escaflowne****.**

**.:****Twilight of Escaflowne****:.**

Chapter 9

**Vision**

**T**he next day, school couldn't have started quick enough. I woke up extra early that morning as I was bubbling with excitement to see Van again…I mean, it's just that he was so utterly fascinating! Not to mention eye-candy—forget candy, he's flippin' eye-chocolate!! Decadently rich, dark, chocolate…

I had woken up at the crack of dawn that morning to get ready for school. I had woken up so early, that not even Shoji had left for work yet. I cheerfully made us both cheese omelet's, humming as I cooked.

"What's got you so cheerful?" Shoji pulled me out of my reverie.

"Can't a girl be cheerful during a bright sunny morning?" I asked innocently.

"It's sunny today?!" He asked disbelievingly.

"Of course it is!" I was too happy for it to be another dreary day in Fanelia. Besides, I had a feeling that today would be a bright one.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!" Shoji exclaimed. "It really is sunny out! But the forecast didn't say anything about sun…hmmmm."

"See? Never question my judgment. Mom always used to say that I had an uncanny ability to predict the weather. Not to mention my premonitions always seem to come true."

"Sure, sure. Well I better be off Tomi or I'm gonna be late! Have fun today at school!" Shoji called as he headed out the door.

I began to gather my things when I realized that I had not dreamed last night, which is very unusual for me. In fact, I don't remember ever not having a dreamless sleep, and I was kinda disappointed, as all my dreams of late have involved Van…

Just as I was about to walk out the door of my house, a strange, nauseating sensation came over me. My vision began to blur, and before I knew it, everything had gone black

…..

_What is this place?_ I wondered.

I was in a beautiful grassy meadow full of wildflowers for as far as the eye could see.

_Am I dreaming? Or is this some kind of vision?_

I spun around in awe, taking in my surroundings when I noticed two figures standing on a hill not far off from where I stood. My body began walking towards them of its own accord, and I didn't even notice that I had been moving until I was at the base of the hill from which the strange figures stood.

I was close enough to where I could make out the two figures as a man and a woman. They wore strange clothing like they were figures straight from a history book, but nonetheless, they were both regally dressed. They hadn't seemed to notice me as they were deeply emerged within conversation. I couldn't make out what they were saying, and I couldn't tell what their faces looked like. All I could make out was that the woman wore a beautiful billowy dress that flowed in the gentle breeze. It was emerald green and had pearl accents. Her hair was the same color as mine—honey blond—except hers was long and wavy and flowed down her back. There were wildflowers weaved within her curls.

The man was tall, and dark. He wore a blood red tunic decorated with silver medals and jewels. He wore a long black cape along with black gloves, pants, and boots. As the cape swayed with the breeze, I caught a glimpse of a sword strapped at his side. It's hilt was covered in what I could guess were diamonds as they sparkled in the light, but above them all shone a blood red jewel that was so deeply crimson it was almost black, and in the very core of the jewel was a void that seemed to capture my gaze and pull me in. With some effort, I was able to avert my eyes from the jewel.

My attention was once more drawn to the man in woman and I could see that their hands were clasped and the woman was crying as her tears sparkled in the sun. That wasn't all that had sparkled in the sun, though. I was too drawn in by the jewel to even notice it before, but now that I looked at the two figures, I could see that the man's very face seemed to sparkle. I blinked my eyes and rubbed them as I thought that what I was seeing was just my imagination, but no, when I looked up at him again, he certainly was sparkling! I couldn't make out his facial features, but from what I could see, his hair was raven black and disheveled, and at his ear was a single earring with a teardrop shaped stone that was a bright, pinkish color. I couldn't help but feel like I had seen that stone somewhere else before. I wasn't given very much time to ponder this thought as the man and woman leaned in for a brief kiss and where then parting in opposite directions.

Once more, everything start t swirl and go black.

…

And then I was back on my doorstep, sitting with my body slumped against my front door frame, and Van was looking frantically into my eyes.

"Hitomi? Are you ok?!" He asked.

I blinked twice before I answered. "I think so…" I looked around him in search of the meadow and the two figures but only saw my front lawn, my beast of a truck, and his Volvo parked on the curb.

"What just happened? I came to pick you up for school when I noticed that you were here, sitting exactly as you are now staring off into space with a blank expression and when I tried speaking to you, you wouldn't respond." He elucidated to me.

I realized that I was a little light headed and my thoughts were slightly fuzzy. I was trying to orientate myself by walking through the mornings events:

_I woke up, showered, got ready for school, ate breakfast with Shoji for a change…THAT'S RIGHT!!! I was all excited about going to school to see Van so I woke up extra early and at breakfast with Shoji and we talked about the weather…THE WEATHER!! _

I looked up at the sky and was disappointed to see that it was already overcast. _I could have sworn that today would be a sonny day…Shoji had even looked out the window and confirmed that it was sonny out so how did it get cloudy and so fast?! _

My mind wandered in it's thoughts about the mornings events and my strange vision and I completely forgot that Van was sitting right in front of me until his voice pulled me from my speculations.

"So do you mind explaining what just happened earlier?" He asked.

"I…uh…I don't really know…I was headed out the door on my way to school when I suddenly felt sick, and then…" _I wasn't sure if I wanted to share my vision with anyone else yet. I still had to sort things out in my own mind, and I didn't even really know Van all that well, so he might think I'm crazy or something and won't wanna spend time with me anymore and we've already made such great progress in getting to know one another! _

My mind raced as I tried to come up with an inconspicuous explanation without revealing what actually happened.

"…and then I think I feinted…" _Stupid Stupid Stupid!! He'll never believe that! Was that all you could come up with!? Come ON Hitomi!!_

I looked at him expectantly to gauge his reaction. He looked into my eyes for a few more seconds that seemed like eternity as I realized how close he was to me. His steady gaze and close proximity made my face flush.

He smiled and said, "You should really take better care of yourself. It's no surprise that you have feinting spells after I've witnessed how little you eat." _Thank God for my finicky eating habits!!! _

He leaned away and stood up. "We better go less we be late for school." I stood up and grabbed my bag, locked the door and turned around to see him already waiting at his car with the passenger door open. It took me a second to lope down the steps to the car as I pondered how I hadn't even hear his steps in the grass, the ruffling of his clothes, or even the car door opening as I was locking up. Not to mention it was all done so fast, surely he couldn't have reached his car and opened his door all in the span of maybe two seconds? Perhaps I was so immersed in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice. Or perhaps my mind was still a little fuzzy from my vision.

As we pulled out from the curb and headed to school I was still deep in thought, and I guess Van was as well as he turned up the music and didn't even bother to say anything to interrupt my contemplating.

Of three things I was absolutely certain: that vision was no ordinary lapse in thought or daydream and it had to mean something; of it's meaning I had no idea though. Van's actions were slightly off this morning, and he too, had some things that I could tell he was keeping from me. Finally, I had definitely seen that pink stone the man had worn as an earring before. I couldn't recall where I had seen it though. I couldn't get it off my mind. Why was it so familiar? And what did it mean? Why did it stand out most of all from my vision, and what does it have to do with me?

VvvV

**AN: DonDonDoooooooooon….What does it all mean!!!?!? Keep reading to find out more. I promise that I will be cranking these chapters out like wildfire, so please stay with me as I ride this rollercoaster of a creative burst!!! Alas! I have overcome my 2 year writer's block and I'm back to stay!!! Well…at least until I've finished this story…& I will finish it if it kills me!!! I promise!!!!**

**Once again, thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers. It was you guys who motivated me to get off my lazy bum and continue this story. In fact, I was looking at my reviews thus far and reading them, and I felt really really really extremely bad because I've left you guys hangin' for two years!!! You must certainly hate me by now…well…hopefully this chapter will be good enough to earn your forgiveness…I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!! YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!**

**p.s. If you find several mistakes, I'm terribly sorry. I don't have a beta reader, and I wrote this chapter at midnight so bear with me.**

**Ja Ne**

**TEE**


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